APG & Co

OVERALL

Owned

AUS

Rating

Clothing

Owned by the Marshall and Michael families, APG & Co (formerly Apparel Group) was established in the early 1950's. Bought Sportscraft in 2000, Saba in 2005, Willow in 2011, Jag in 2013. The Willow brand was discontinued in 2016. Clothing manufactured in China.

Company Assessment

A- grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's 'Ethical Fashion Report 2019', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policies, transparency and traceability, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental management.[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights]

This company has signed the 'Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh', a program endorsed by Bangladeshi and international unions and labor rights organizations. The ground-breaking program includes independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory factory building renovations, the obligation by brands and retailers to underwrite the cost of repairs, and a vital role for workers and their unions  all in a legally-binding, enforceable agreement.[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]

This company has signed the Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. The Uzbek government uses local government officials, hospital directors, and school presidents to mobilize workers; and detains and tortures human rights defenders seeking to monitor the harvests. [Source 2019][More on Human Rights]

In June 2016 this company paid penalties totalling $21,600 after being issued with two infringement notices by the ACCC following an investigation into the recognition of consumer guarantee rights in the clothing retail industry. The ACCC issued the infringement notices because it had reasonable grounds to believe that Sportcraft had made false or misleading representations about consumer guarantees to its customers, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.[Source 2016][More on Irresponsible Marketing]